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Senator Rubio Addresses Far Right

Speaking on the Senate floor yesterday, the major mover of the immigration reform bill addressed his biggest opposition within his party. Senator Marco Rubio from Florida is facing hard questions and obstacles from the far right, who worry that there needs to be a secure border first and that granting amnesty to illegal aliens will just exacerbate the immigration problem. Senator Rubio addressed the fact that government trust right now is at an all time low, and many people will not read the thousand plus pages that make up the bill. He said, however, that the immigration system is obviously broken and although it would be easiest to sit back and wait for the perfect bill, the issue needs to be addressed immediately. Rubio said, “This is the way things are now. This is the status quo. And it is a terrible mess. It is hurting our country terribly. And unless we do something about it, this administration is never going to fix it. Political pundits love to focus on the politics of all this. But for me, this isn’t about catering to any group for political gain. Predictably, despite my work on immigration reform, so-called “pro-immigrant” groups protest me daily.” With the Hoeven-Corker amendment, illegal immigrants cannot apply for citizenship until major border security has been implemented. The bill includes 700 miles of border fence, 20,000 new border agents, a specific technology plan for each sector of the border, an E-Verify for every employer in America, and a tracking system to identify people who overstay their visas. Amnesty granted to these illegals also requires a few steps. Rubio stated, “And the proposal deals with those who are illegally here now in a reasonable but responsible way. Right now, those here illegally are living in de facto amnesty. They are unregistered, many pay no taxes, and few will ever pay any price for having violated our laws. Under this bill they will have to come forward, pass background checks, pay a fine, start paying taxes, and be ineligible for welfare, food stamps or ObamaCare.” To read Senator Rubio’s entire floor speech, please visit http://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=fa619075-cd59-4736-9234-a57165d6b0d6